By the time I had finished the final bites of my Tofurky on Thursday, I was sadly feeling another family holiday sliding to a close. All of that anticipation for a few days of rest and relaxation, and Thanksgiving Break is over faster than you can say "meat alternatives." But there are only about two weeks left until Winter Break if you're lucky (or, closer to two-and-a-half, if you're me), so why worry, right? During a "Hairspray" screening and some black cherry wine with my parents Thursday evening, I came to an unsettling conclusion about all of this waiting: I'm measuring life in college by the breaks I get.
And it's not just me. The Daily News ran a daily countdown until blessed "Fruesday," which, of course, was one more obstacle to get through until Turkey-Turducken-Tofurky day. Among the vast array of Facebook applications now available (finish poking all of your friends and then scroll down past the "Sex and the City" quotes and you'll find it) is the Christmas countdown; if you want, you can be reminded how long you have to wait until Christmas morn as many times a day as you take hits off the Newsfeed. The Meijer where I shop was singing the praises of a tacky winter season with off-key musical pre-lit Christmas trees as early as Halloween, and Black Friday placed the upcoming holidays firmly in the mind of every shopper militant enough to greet the early morning sales at Kohl's. And they all say the same thing: if you keep moving now, you'll be able to slow down and stop later.
Why does it seem like life is composed only of the things we do while waiting to be done with it? Is it a pitfall of some Western philosophy of education that years are spent in preparation for an industrious life of money-making with dubious results?
The Bhagavad-Gita, a small part of India's national epic poem, is a conversation between Arjuna the archer and Lord Krishna. In the middle of a battle, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna, "You have the power to act only; you do not have the power to influence the result. Therefore, you must act without anticipation of the result without succumbing to inaction." This quote actually provides a base from which Krishna explains a life lived without desire, but, regardless of your beliefs, something can be said for at least diminishing a goals-focused mindset.
Sure, goals ensure production, but in lieu of removing the desire to graduate from college someday, what can you do in these last few weeks of the semester to increase your own moments of rest? How can each day be a break in itself so that the big breaks become less vital and more enjoyable?
My family doesn't have many Thanksgiving traditions. Aside from the Thanksgiving Eve service at church, we're pretty much left to our own devices until the Turkey is cut and I've begun digging into my lump of soy, and there tends to be more dinner-inappropriate conversation at the table than abstract "thank you"s In fact, an outsider might even call our Thanksgiving "low-key." (Christmas and birthdays work pretty similarly around the Miller house.) But what I appreciate about a lifetime of low-key holidays is their lack of stress. There's less emphasis on perfection and more emphasis on having fun with the good things that are already there.
Which gives more reason to be thankful along with more room to breathe.
Push on, fellow Cardinals. Sojourn. Winter Break is coming, and there is happiness along the way. How else will we call these the best years of our lives?
Write to Joel at jtmiller@bsu.edu
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
